GM Raises Prices

General Motors said it is raising 2005 model prices across its brand lines by about one percent, the Wall Street Journal reported.

But on some hot sellers, the price boost is even higher. For example, the base price on the sedan, will go up $1,050, or 3.4%, the WSJ noted, citing data from Edmunds.com.

In addition, GM is expected to roll out a series of additional price increases as the year goes on.

Advertisement - Continue Reading Below

Meanwhile, GM is still offering sizable discounts, up to $4,500 for some GM SUVs, to lure buyers. But its latest pricing move illustrates how the company has been giving consumers a price break with one hand and then taking some of it back with the other, the story said.

Toyota Delays Lexus SUV Hybrid Launch

Toyota is pushing back the launch of the , a hybrid version of the popular RX330 crossover SUV, to allow more time for engineers to evaluate the vehicle and to build up inventory to meet expected strong demand, the Wall Street Journal reported.

Most Popular

Part of the reason for the delay is to avoid the acute shortages of the new which have had some customers waiting as long as six to seven months for delivery. To forestall such situations, Toyota says it is going to build up a deeper inventory of the RX400h.

"Some people, they have to have a car and they can't wait," Bill Ussery, a Toyota spokesman, told the WSJ. "We'd rather have enough inventories out there than having people wait."

The delay will also allow Toyota engineers "more time to thoroughly evaluate the vehicle and make sure all the components are in perfect order," Ussery said.

Toyota said it expects to sell 24,000 RX400h vehicles a year.

Saturn Recalls Vue SUVs

Saturn is recalling sport-utility vehicles from model years 2002 through 2004 to make "necessary adjustments to strengthen the VUE's suspension system," the company said in a press release.

The recall will affect 246,433 vehicles, including 231,123 in the U.S. and 15,310 in Canada.

The recall arose out of a new dynamic stability test commonly referred to as the "fishhook maneuver" performed by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). While the Vue did not roll over during the test, the rear suspension sustained damage when a wheel contacted the pavement, preventing the vehicle from completing the test, Saturn said.

"Once we learned that the VUE did not complete the new test, we acted quickly to institute a change on the production line, and to voluntarily recall all previously sold Vues to ensure a high degree of confidence in the performance of this popular vehicle," said Jill Lajdziak, Saturn's general manager.

Vue owners will be formally notified by a letter that outlines details of the voluntary recall program. They will then be advised when to bring their vehicles to a Saturn retailer so that the modifications can be made, free of charge.

EPA Certifies Ford's Hybrid Escape SUV

The Environmental Protection Agency said it has certified the 2005 as the first gasoline-electric hybrid SUV for sale in the United States to meet the agency's stringent new emissions standards, Reuters reported.

EPA said the Escape was given a score of nine in its Green Vehicle Guide, which assigns air pollution scores to vehicles on a scale of 0 to 10, with 10 being the least polluting.

The Escape, which Ford expects to have on sale in September, combines a conventional gasoline engine with an electric motor that at times takes over as the power source, improving fuel efficiency.

The hybrid Escape's two-wheel drive version gets 36 miles per gallon (mpg) in the city and 31 mpg on the highway. The four-wheel drive's fuel economy is estimated at 33 mpg in the city and 29 mpg on the highway. That's much higher than most SUVs for the 2004 model year, which averaged 17.9 mpg, Reuters noted.